[Evict84]

Hi I’m doing my first tank and had used the following and if anyone had use before and any feedback to share?

1) 10L tank
2) distilled water
3) Dennerle shrimp king Sulawesi salt (about 4g) to achieve SG 1.008
4) coral chips
5) lava rock
6) ANS sand
7) bio digest

All item are clean with distilled water, and place in with biodigest at the end.
Do I need to place in Spirulina powder to create the ammonia as stated?

As I don’t have any water testing kit, is there other way to check or I must go get a water test kit to check my water ?

light is turned on for about 6hrs and saw some Bubbling on the side of the tank. Is there any concern?

[Javik]

From what I've read, I believe you'll want to use a proper reef/marine salt rather than a tropical water salt mix.

[Evict84]

Hi Javik,

I checked with the seller and mentioned that the salt is suitable for Opae ula and wonder if anyone had tried using this salt before?

[Javik]

The issue with the tropical salt mixes is that they're intended for freshwater shrimp for rasing the GH/KH/PH and introcucing minerals such as calcium chloride to RO water, and aren't intended for producing sea water in the same way that Marine and Reef salts are. With a heater and a filter you've got a cracking good Sulawesi shrimp setup

What you're aiming to is make marine water as would go in a marine tank and then water it down (with RO or distilled water that hasn't been remineralized) to 1.010 sg.

Odin (site owner) uses Instant Ocean marine salt then mixes 10 litres of RO water to 170 grams of the marine salt, so your 4g per 10litre number seems a bit odd too.

Edit also to answer one of your other questions: without a test kit the best way to know the water is ready is the emergence of green algae (following the brown algae/diatom stage of cycling).

[Vorteil]

Use marine salt specific for a marine tank. I don't recommend the salt you're trying to use and I believe it incorrect and not meant to create brackish water. Really no need to test the water. I would add the shrimp right in and feed spirulina to get the cycle started.

[Evict84]

Thank you all, look like I need to buy different salt and redo the whole tank.

[tzg]

Use marine salt specific for a marine tank. I don't recommend the salt you're trying to use and I believe it incorrect and not meant to create brackish water. Really no need to test the water. I would add the shrimp right in and feed spirulina to get the cycle started.

do you mean cycling the tank is not needed ?

[odin]

any updates?

[LakinZ]

When planning to have a fish tank in your home, the most essential factor to consider is the size of the aquarium. There are various fish tank sizes available but highly recommended for newbies are 5 gallons, 10 gallons, and 20 gallons fish tank.

[LakinZ]

The size and the weight are two factors related to each other and determine how big the fish tank is. For a beginner, my recommendation is to go for the smaller size at first which is 5 gallons, because it really fits newbies in terms of their needs and experience.